How Aunties Power Our World
We talk with artists, scholars and community organizers about the underrated power of aunties, and the ways in which they actively redefine the nuclear family unit and our systems of care.
September 5, 2025
55 min
Full
2,983 of 3,393
September 5, 2025
How Aunties Power Our World
0:00 / 55:47
Excerpt playback isn’t available for this episode — use the full-episode link.
Search the Record
Moment search isn’t open for this episode yet
When it opens, you’ll be able to type any phrase and jump straight to the second it was said.
America the Jesuit Review Episodes Around September 5, 2025
Episode 2,983 of 3,393 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
How Aunties Power Our World
Summary
What does it mean to be an “auntie”? Studies have shown that aunties — whether they are a family member, a chosen maternal figure or a parent’s friend — play a crucial support role in a child’s upbringing. But the work doesn’t end at the family unit. Aunties are often the ones showing up and acting as powerful forces of social change. We’ll talk with artists, scholars and community organizers about the underrated power of aunties, and the ways in which they actively redefine the nuclear family unit and our systems of care.
Guests:
Kristina Wong, comedian and performance artist; Doris Duke Artist Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama; her kids' book "Auntie Kristina's Guide to Asian American Activism" comes out Spring 2026 from Beaming Books
Jocelyn Jackson, chef and community organizer; founder, JustUs Kitchen; co-founder, People's Kitchen Collective; executive producer, Life is Living Festival; former chef-in-residence, Museum of African Diaspora
Kareem Khubchandani, educator, scholar and performer; associate professor of theater, dance and performance studies, Tufts University
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode details and artwork are published by the show’s own feed. Sentinel plays short cited excerpts and links every episode back to its publisher.